Michael Recchiuti Fève Bar

One from the vaults! I believe this was purchased in Washington, D.C. then enjoyed in Charleston. (Oh, America. I miss you.)

Michel Recchiuti Fève Bar

Indulgence on the verge of obsession? Are you talking to me, Michael? (Quickly hiding the altogether different chocolate being eaten while writing this review.)

Two elements drew me to this Fève bar by Michael Recchiuti. First was the 85% cacao content, as I was in the mood for something dark, and second was the inclusion of cacao nibs, because, well, I love cacao nibs.

Sadly for me, the cacao nibs seemed more of an afterthought than anything else. They were sprinkled on the underside of the bar, yet tended to contribute little more than a vague textural contrast and not, as I had hoped, a punch of chocolate flavour.

Luckily for me, the chocolate itself was mighty fine. It was a fairly solid bar at around 1cm thick (go metric system!), but very smooth in texture. In terms of flavour, it tended towards the red berry spectrum but also had hints of muscovado sugar and clotted cream.

(Camille, you might be pleased to hear that one of my tasting note typos was “tomacco”.)

The nibs look pretty, at least.

Michael Recchiuti, a San Francisco-based chocolatier, balances this chocolate between the not-sweet and the not-bitter, so that it is quite subtle rather than robust. My tasting notes include lots of mentions of “smooth”, “clotted cream”, “not acrid” and “luscious”, while also mentioning raspberry and blackberry as recurring themes.

I enjoyed the thick, almost fudgy texture of the melt, but over time became less enthused about the lack of nib-pizzazz and the chocolate’s tanginess. Still, this is a great example of how diverse chocolate can be, as the subtlety of this 85% is entirely opposite to the dry and earthy intensity of Lindt’s 85%.

Let’s give the last word to Mr. Recchiuti, though, shall we?

Most of all... I will!

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15 Responses

I just read your comment on Tina’s blog and I can’t believe the Starbucks are gone from Australia. Back when I was studying abroad there I visited several of them! I think I would’ve cried if I couldn’t have my vanilla lattes for that whole six months. I’m sorry you are living without them now!

It’s amazing how different nibs can taste – back in the States, a food blogger organized a nib tasting at the bakery where I worked. We tasted the nibs, and then bars made from said nibs, and other bars from the same regions. It was fascinating, and played a big role in my chocolate education. I did feel a bit ill for most of the afternoon, though. 🙂

Camille: There may be a search on your blog for “tomacco”… I suddenly freaked myself out that I’d only imagined the reference and went on a searching-to-justify-my-comment hunt 😛 Hmm, that was tautological, wasn’t it?

Onto more important matters – nib party?! That is entirely heaven. Better than just a chocolate tasting, by far!

Yes this looks awesome. I just grabbed some chocolate out of my desk and hoed in, not great for mid-morning.

BTW @ croquecamille – on chocolate tastings – I did a tasting a while ago at Monsieur Truffe in Collingwood, Vic. We tried some nibs as well as a range of single origin chocolates. I absolutely love them and find it so interesting how different different chocolates from different regions taste. I just ate some 74% from the Dominican Republic which (according to the tasting notes) has hints of black tea and mild tobacco with orange flavours and a long lasting finish. I’m not sure my palate can quite pick out all those flavours though!!

Lorraine: Hopefully one day he’ll try it! But I think a few of the other nib bars I plan to review could be even better for him, if he likes the slightly bitter… 🙂

Emily: As a sociologist (well, someone who’s written a thesis in Sociology…), I can say with certainty that mealtimes are socially constructed and that one can, and should, eat chocolate at any moment of the day! 😛 (I certainly do. Chocolate is great for kickstarting the day!)

And it is amazing when you discover that cacao tastes differently depending on origin, isn’t it? I’ve come to figure out that I usually don’t much like chocolate from Madagascar (too tangy/fruity for me), but love those from Ghana (wonderfully earthy). But I’m still envious of you people doing nib tastings!

You’re giving me chocolate cravings I can’t satisfy while visiting small towns in northern Argentina. It’s fabulous to read reviews from the perspective of someone who is so infatuated with chocolate. I can’t wait to read more 🙂

It is surprisingly difficult to find a really good chocolate that incorporates whole cocoa nibs. I don’t know why- You’d think that it would necessarily mean higher quality ingredients… Ah well, this still sounds pretty darn good!

Jill: I’m sorry that you can’t satisfy the cravings right now, but I’m super glad my blog can make you want chocolate 🙂 It’s so nice to have people like my chocolate obsession, not just think I’m crazy 😛

BitterSweet: The chocolate was good enough to make up for the lacking nibs! I think the best nibs + chocolate bars I’ve had are by Askinosie, though I’ve had another few great ones that I intend to review eventually!